The Download: safer space travel, and generative AI in video games
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
Space travel is dangerous. Could genetic testing and gene editing make it safer?
Long-distance space travel can wreak havoc on human health. There’s radiation and microgravity to contend with, as well as the psychological toll of isolation and confinement. Research on identical twin astronauts has also revealed a slew of genetic changes that happen when a person spends a year in space.
That’s why some bioethicists are exploring the idea of radical treatments for future astronauts. Once we’ve figured out all the health impacts of space travel, they argue, we should edit the genomes of astronauts ahead of launch to offer them the best protection. Some have even suggested this might result in the creation of an all-new species: Homo spatialis.
If this is starting to sound a bit like sci-fi, that’s because it mostly is, for now. But there are biotechnologies we can use to help space travelers now, too.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly health and biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.
MIT Technology Review Narrated: How generative AI could reinvent what it means to play
Open-world video games are inhabited by vast crowds of computer-controlled characters. They make virtual worlds feel lived in and full.
After a while, however, the repetitive chitchat (or threats) of a passing stranger forces you to bump up against the truth: This is just a game.
It may not always be like that. Generative AI is opening the door to entirely new kinds of in-game interactions that are open-ended, creative, and unexpected. Future AI-powered NPCs that don’t rely on a script could make games and virtual worlds deeply immersive.
This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast. In partnership with News Over Audio, we’ll be making a selection of our stories available, each one read by a professional voice actor. You’ll be able to listen to them on the go or download them to listen to offline.
We’re publishing a new story each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, including some taken from our most recent print magazine. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Sam Altman has denied he’s due a giant equity stake in OpenAI
Although the startup’s board has discussed him being compensated. (CNBC)
+ Questions have been raised over the legality of OpenAI abandoning its non-profit roots. (Vox)
+ Fellow AI firm Anthropic is also a public benefit company. (Bloomberg $)
2 Hurricane Helene is battering the US
The colossal category 4 storm is a potential threat to life. (The Guardian)
+ Florida residents are being warned to evacuate as soon as possible. (Vox)
+ How climate change can supercharge hurricanes. (MIT Technology Review)
3 A ‘predatory’ US telehealth startup prescribes Adderall to patients from China
In a bid to avoid a crackdown from federal authorities. (WSJ $)
4 High schools aren’t equipped to deal with sexually explicit deepfakes
And neither are tech companies. (The Atlantic $)
+ A high school’s deepfake porn scandal is pushing US lawmakers into action. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Close to a third of Elon Musk’s X posts last week were incorrect
They were either false, misleading, or missing crucial context. (NYT $)
+ Musk’s inflammatory posting led to him not being invited to a UK tech summit. (The Guardian)
6 Science editors are questioning Meta’s claims it’s not polarizing
Respected journal Science is revisiting a paper it published last year. (WSJ $)
7 An exoskeleton manufacturer is refusing to fix a broken suit
Leaving its paralyzed wearer unable to move. (404 Media)
+ A brain implant changed her life. Then it was removed against her will. (MIT Technology Review)
8 China’s premier nuclear submarine sank in its own shipyard
It’s a major step backwards in its plans to catch up with US seapower. (FT $)
9 For sale: a brand new NASA moon rover
It’s technically a bargain. (Economist $)
+ What’s next for the moon. (MIT Technology Review)
10 How this family of finches became an internet sensation
Nesting season is providing essential viewing. (NY Mag $)
Quote of the day
“Elon Musk treats the platform like his own misinformation megaphone.”
—Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate, tells AFP he fears Musk will continue fueling political tensions ahead of the US Presidential election.
The big story
The race to fix space-weather forecasting before next big solar storm hits
April 2024
As the number of satellites in space grows, and as we rely on them for increasing numbers of vital tasks on Earth, the need to better predict stormy space weather is becoming more and more urgent.
Scientists have long known that solar activity can change the density of the upper atmosphere. But it’s incredibly difficult to precisely predict the sorts of density changes that a given amount of solar activity would produce.
Now, experts are working on a model of the upper atmosphere to help scientists to improve their models of how solar activity affects the environment in low Earth orbit. If they succeed, they’ll be able to keep satellites safe even amid turbulent space weather, reducing the risk of potentially catastrophic orbital collisions. Read the full story.
—Tereza Pultarova
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Form an orderly line to sample some of the world’s oldest cheese!
+ We love the New York City Gay Man’s Chorus.
+ The Earth is due to gain a second moon for a couple of months, which is pretty cool.
+ York University in the UK has honored a fallen campus celebrity—a particularly tall duck called Long Boi.